Judah Hertz

Hertz Group, a Los Angeles investment company headed by Judah Hertz, has purchased one of the oldest buildings in Los Angeles' former financial district--Popular Center at the corner of 4th and Spring streets. Hertz paid Banco Popular de Puerto Rico $4.5 million for the nine-story building constructed in 1903. The structure is 80% occupied and contains the Community Redevelopment Agency and a branch of Puerto Rico's Banco Popular, said Tom Gilmore, Hertz Group president.

Judah Hertz, owner of the California Mart and several other major downtown Los Angeles properties, lost a bid Wednesday for a Nevada gaming license as a result of alleged ties to reputed mobsters involved in drug dealing and prostitution. Hertz "obviously is unsuitable for licensure with the state of Nevada and has no business here," said state Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval as the commission voted 4 to 0 against Hertz's application. Hertz denies any wrongdoing.

Judah Hertz, owner of the California Mart and several other major downtown Los Angeles properties, lost a bid Wednesday for a Nevada gaming license as a result of alleged ties to reputed mobsters involved in drug dealing and prostitution. Hertz "obviously is unsuitable for licensure with the state of Nevada and has no business here," said state Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval as the commission voted 4 to 0 against Hertz's application. Hertz denies any wrongdoing.

Hertz Group, a Los Angeles investment company headed by Judah Hertz, has purchased one of the oldest buildings in Los Angeles' former financial district--Popular Center at the corner of 4th and Spring streets. Hertz paid Banco Popular de Puerto Rico $4.5 million for the nine-story building constructed in 1903. The structure is 80% occupied and contains the Community Redevelopment Agency and a branch of Puerto Rico's Banco Popular, said Tom Gilmore, Hertz Group president.

The vacant home of the former University Club in downtown Los Angeles is up for sale for $7 million--more than twice what the current owner paid for the property in late 1997. Hertz Group, which has purchased several downtown properties at bargain prices in recent years, has invested heavily in improving the 43-year-old structure, said broker Wolfgang Kupka of Cushman & Wakefield, who is in charge of selling the six-story, 110,000-square-foot property at 630 W. 6th St.

California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles, the cornerstone of Southern California's apparel and fashion industry, is being purchased for a reported $135 million. Jamison Group, perhaps the largest privately held office landlord in Los Angeles, is in escrow to buy the 3-million-square-foot complex from Hertz Investment Group, said Hertz President Judah Hertz. The sale is expected to close early next year. Jamison is owned by physician and investor David Y.

A Texas real estate investment group is set to purchase a landmark downtown Los Angeles high-rise in partnership with local landlord Hertz Investment Group, according to sources close to the negotiations. An affiliate of Dallas-based Skyrise Properties is under contract to purchase Union Bank Plaza for about $89 million, knowledgeable sources confirm.

The owners of the California Mart, the center of Southern California's apparel and fashion business, have agreed to sell the downtown Los Angeles showroom and office complex to Hertz Investment Group for about $90 million, according to people familiar with the deal. The Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm is in escrow to buy the 2-million-square-foot California Mart from Equitable Life Assurance Co.

HAI Waknine shambled into the Beverly Hills Lamborghini showroom. The owner, Victor Keuylian, sensed trouble. Keuylian and his son were late on paying off a $950,000 loan that Waknine had brokered with an Israeli businessman. "What do you want, Hai?" he asked, according to a later telephone conversation recounting the incident that was caught on a federal wiretap. Waknine pointed to a $175,000 Ferrari in the luxury European car dealership. "I want this one over here.

The new skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles dominate the skyline. But it's the frumpy and faded commercial buildings of old that rule today's action in the real estate market. A leasing frenzy by telecommunications and Internet-related firms has sent rents for so-called Class B and C buildings--older structures in marginal areas--soaring over the past year.

The California Mart in downtown Los Angeles will be renamed California Market Center when the newest tenant at the giant wholesale showroom complex moves in next year, said mart owner Judah Hertz of Hertz Investment Group. The new tenant is Britain-based DMG World Media, which recently signed a lease for 1.1 million square feet of showroom space at the California Mart complex at 9th and Los Angeles streets.

Stanley Diller, the former chief executive of Beverly Hills Hospital and Medical Center, has filed a lawsuit accusing the company that now owns the hospital and a former business associate of tricking him into selling his interest in the 241-bed facility. In the lawsuit filed Jan. 15 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Diller said he was induced to sell his stake in the hospital after Judah Hertz, the other major shareholder, told him he wanted out of the business because of ill health.